PAR Special
{{Short description|1950s American experimental aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name =Special |image =PAR_Special.jpg |caption =Front quarter view of the PAR Special, at rest. }} {{Infobox aircraft type |type =Experimental aircraft |national origin =American |manufacturer =Parks Alumni Racebuilders |designer = |first flight =February, 1950 |introduction =1950 |retired =1952 |status =Dismantled |primary user = |more users = |produced = |number built =1 |program cost = |unit cost = |developed from = |developed into =Mace-Trefethen Seamaster |variants with their own articles = }} |
The PAR Special was a high-speed experimental monoplane built by a consortium of aviation engineers, and competed in air races in the early 1950s.
Design and development
The Special was a project of four St. Louis-based McDonnell Aircraft employees; Arthur Beckington, George Owl, Errol Painter, and Robert Short. They formed a partnership called Parks Alumni Racebuilders, or PAR, named as a tribute to the Parks Air College that all four had graduated from.
The Special was a shoulder-wing single-engine pusher monoplane, of wood and metal construction. It incorporated a variable-incidence wing, with a jackscrew mechanism allowing the wing to be adjusted in flight, with the angle of incidence covering the range from 0.5 through to 13.5 degrees. The wings were cantilevered and had a tapered planform, with neither sweep nor dihedral.
The pilot was positioned just ahead of the wing, and sat under a bubble canopy. A centrally located Continental C85 engine powered, via an extension-shaft, a two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller positioned aft of the empennage. The aircraft had a Y tail configuration, with an inverted tailfin that ensured that the propeller had sufficient ground clearance. Its undercarriage consisted of tandem main wheels, partially recessed into the underside of the fuselage. Skateboard wheels were attached to the trailing edge of each wingtip.
The aircraft was given the race number 87 and the registration N90522.
Operational history
The Special was first flown by Art Beckington in February 1950. From that year through to 1952, it competed in several air races, achieving lap speeds of {{convert|181|mph|kph|abbr=on}}. It was not as competitive as had been expected and in 1952 the Special was retired and later dismantled.
Its wings, rear fuselage, and tail were passed onto Thomas Trefethen and Harvey Mace, who incorporated them into a single-engine tractor seaplane they had constructed in the mid-1960s, the Mace-Trefethen Seamaster.
Specifications (Special)
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See also
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